ABSTRACT We are requesting funds to purchase an IVIS Spectrum, a highly sensitive, high throughput and full tomographic pre-clinical optical imaging system. The addition of this optical system will provide continuity and further strengthen ongoing work in oncology, pharmaceutical sciences, engineering, neurosciences, and genetic medicine by current users of the USC Molecular Imaging Center (MIC). In addition, it will greatly enhance the ability of MIC to support new research in novel probe design, such as multimodality imaging probes. We have gathered 13 NIH funded investigators (eight major and five minor users) throughout research disciplines such as drug discovery, alcohol/drug induced liver disease, neurodegeneration, oncology, and pharmacy to support our current S10 application. More importantly, the unit will replace and upgrade an obsolete IVIS 200 unit that has been a very productive and instrumental imaging equipment for our research core users for over 11 years. The IVIS Spectrum pre-clinical optical imaging system provides a compact and efficient platform that allows non-invasive, high sensitivity, in vivo imaging with high throughput and full tomographic optical imaging. The system?s optical imaging technology will provide our investigators a tool to perform quantitative, highly sensitive in vivo fluorescence and bioluminescence imaging. Optical imaging of fluorescence and bioluminescence based probes in live animals has undoubtedly become an invaluable tool in biomedical research. Optical based imaging serves as an important bridge between in vitro and in vivo studies, reconciling cell-based molecular biology with in vivo systems biology. Whole body fluorescence and bioluminescence imaging have provided a platform for investigators to visualize gene expression and protein functions in vivo. In vivo fluorescence- and bioluminescence-based optical imaging provides investigators with a cost efficient, high-throughput, and non-nuclear based approach to investigate disease progression.